Pope Leo XIV, on Sunday, beat President Bola Tinubu to condemn what he described as a “terrible massacre” in the Yelewata community of Benue, where suspected herdsmen carried out a brutal overnight attack, burning entire families, including toddlers, alive over the weekend.

Minutes before the Angelus prayer, the pontiff drew attention to the wanton killings in Benue state and said that he was deeply worried about the bloodshed of scores of internally displaced Nigerians sheltered by the Catholic Church between Friday and Saturday.

He called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to bring the attackers to book, stressing that “security, peace and justice must prevail.” 

The pope said he would continue to keep “rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence” in his thoughts and prayers.

The pope’s statement, released around 2:00 p.m. WAT, fuelled criticisms against the president, who, at the time, had yet to comment on the massacre.

Nigerians criticised the administration’s seeming indifference, noting that the Catholic leader in faraway Rome had acknowledged the tragedy before their own president did.

A statement by the presidency was released later, specifically at 9:38 p.m. on Sunday, decrying the killings. The president urged security agencies to fish out the perpetrators.

But the delayed response drew further backlash from citizens, many of whom said the president’s statement lacked the urgency and empathy he showed in reacting to international incidents, particularly his prompt condolence to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi following last week’s crash of a UK-bound aircraft from India, which claimed more than 200 lives.

“You were quick to send condolences to India. Benue is bleeding under your nose,” X user AJ wrote.

“Has the mediocre president of Nigeria ever said anything about the killings by bandits and terrorists killing our people and soldiers?” @GFCLASIS said in a post on X.“@narendramodi, please remind @officialABAT that charity begins from home.”

“Can you see an insensitive and misplaced priority president of a country,” stated user Ola Michael. “200 people was (sic) just killed in his country and he has not said a word of condolence to their family members, neither has he visited the state but he is condoling the India president.”